Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Silhouette

Silhouette \sill-oo-ET\ , noun;
1. A dark image outlined against a lighter background
2. The outline or general shape of something
(source)
This word dates to 1798 from French silhouette after Étienne de Silhouette, the French minister of finance in 1759. It just so happened that France was going through a credit crisis at the time, so he was forced impose some economic restrictions that irritated people, especially the wealthy ones. Because of the restrictions his name became associated with things that are done or made cheaply, like those black silhouette profile pictures.

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